Automatically operating machines are known, which comprise, in combination, an upper hopper for storing and conveying the citrous fruits to be squeezed, a cutting mechanism adapted to cut each fruit into two halves, two squeezing devices adapted to squeeze out the juice from these two halves separately, and a transfer mechanism adapted to convey the halves to the devices and to evacuate the skins on leaving the devices. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,272,116 (WHITE), 2,629,317 (NELSON) and 2,311,565 (NELSON) clearly illustrate the prior known technique.
Each squeezing device generally comprises a fixed body in ogive form which is associated, on the one hand, with a squeezer animated by a reciprocating movement oriented axially with respect to the body, on the other hand, with a retractable ejector adapted automatically to disengage the squeezed skin. This ejector is most often formed by two scalloped horizontal walls which surround the ogive to form support for the half of fruit to be squeezed and which are guided obliquely so as to lower and move apart from each other under the effect of the pressure exerted on the half of fruit by the mobile squeezer, then to rise under the action of an elastic members, ejecting the skin when this squeezer rises itself.
Experience has shown that such an arrangement does not give entire satisfaction in practice. Its complex construction increases the cost price of the squeezing device, at the same time as rendering the automatic operation thereof less reliable and hindering its cleaning after use.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these drawbacks.